No Pressure
by WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: She loved the feeling of being in a new relationship. She loved being in love. And for the first time in her life, she got to experience the adrenaline rush that came with a new relationship while simultaneously being so in love with the person that she was with. That combination didn't happen often.


**I've been working on this one here and there for a few days, and I was going to save it to publish until next week, but I have a couple oneshots I want to get posted before I start on my next multi chapter fic, and I really want to get moving on that one, so that's pushing up publication on these oneshots.**

 **Which brings me to something brief I'd like to say. Please check to see if there's a "the end" at the end of the fic, or a description of the fic anywhere as a "oneshot", or if it's listed as "complete," and if it is, please don't leave a review that is just asking for another chapter - "reviews" that are just "UPDATE!" or "MORE!" are not reviews, they are demands. And I don't like sounding like a bitch or anything but like, we are doing this for free here.**

* * *

Paige licked the tip of her finger and trailed it around the bottom of the basket. She drew it to her lips and quickly sucked the salt off, blushing slightly when she saw Walter's amused expression. "What? I like that they use sea salt on their fries."

"That's the entire reason you picked this place, isn't it?"

She giggled. "Maybe." Walter's hands were clasped under his chin, his elbows resting on the table, and he rolled his eyes at her. "Don't make fun!"

Walter grinned. Paige tried to ignore him, picking up more of the salt, but she couldn't help but smile too.

There had been a surprising amount of complication in picking where to go on their first date. At first, Walter had gotten them reservations at an upscale restaurant that she'd been saying she wanted to try. Paige had thought she was excited…no…no, she _was_ excited, but with it came a wave of nerves that left her stuttering and rambling to Toby mere hours after setting a day and time. _We've never gone anywhere like that before, not together. I'm just worried that I'm going to be so nervous about messing it up, that it's going to be a self-fulfilling prophecy._ By the end of the day, as she'd come to find out, Walter had unloaded similar nerves on Cabe.

So Toby had suggested they cancel at the restaurant. Pick something else, he said, something without all the built in pressure to look nice and spend the right amount of money and everything else that came with an extravagant night out. _But don't go to Kovelsky's. Go somewhere you don't already have a lot of memories together. Make it different – because it is. But don't get into an environment where there's a lot of pressure._

The result was now – a two hour date at a diner a few miles away from her condo, somewhere they had both been once or twice, but never together. She was in a dress, and he was in dressier clothes than normal, but neither of them had gone out and bought anything they were wearing tonight.

And Paige didn't know if any of that was the difference or not, but God, this was easy.

There had been a couple awkward silences in between awkward chuckles when they'd arrived and been seated, but even thinking back a few hours later, Paige realized it hadn't been much different than the awkwardness they'd experienced before they were together, whenever something got real or they got close. The awkwardness had passed quickly, however, and Paige almost couldn't believe how much fun the past few hours had been.

But then again, it was Walter. She had always loved spending time with Walter.

"Did you want dessert at all?" He asked, tipping the empty fry basket toward him and shaking his head in amusement at the lack of any remaining salt.

Paige glanced at the dessert menu propped up near the condiments. "I think I'm okay," she said. "But I'll split something with you if you wanted." Walter studied the menu for a moment. "If you're not hungry, don't order anything," she said quickly, meaning to remove any pressure she might have put on him, and immediately regretting her word choice. _Two hours ago we were a brand new couple and now I'm either his wife or his mother._

"I'm not really hungry," Walter said slowly. "But, the thing is, I…"

"Don't want this to end yet?" Paige blurted, because that's what she was thinking. Her eyes widened when she realized she'd said that out loud.

Walter blushed, glancing down at the table before answering. "Yeah."

"Well, uh," she said, swearing she'd never been so pink in her entire life, "it doesn't have to. We could go for a walk."

The waiter brought the bill, and Walter wrote in the tip and total and signed his name so fast the man seemed to realize that they didn't want him making small talk. "You folks have a great rest of your night," he said, nodding to them before backing away.

"So, walk?"

Walter nodded. "Are you going to be cold?"

"Let's see."

* * *

It wasn't chilly outside, the day's heat had held fairly well. "Wow, it's nice out," she commented. "Where do you want to go?"

"There's that shopping center that way," Walter said, pointing behind them. "Or we could walk toward that field where those teenagers play that Harry Potter game."

"Let's go that way," Paige said. "Less people." She reached out, smiling. Walter took her hand.

When Paige had first moved to Los Angeles, she'd expected to be practically shoulder to shoulder with people anywhere, anytime. But at times, parts of the area were almost deserted, even in better neighborhoods. She and Walter walked slowly, almost lazily. She liked this. She loved the feeling of being in a new relationship. She loved being in love. It had been a long, long time since she was in love. And for the first time in her life, she got to experience the adrenaline rush that came with a new relationship while simultaneously being so in love with the person that she was with. That combination didn't happen all the time – or even often.

It was overwhelming, to be feeling so much at once. But it was overwhelming in a way that she liked.

"That fountain is pretty at night," she commented, pointing just ahead of them. "With the lights at the base making the water look like that."

"It almost looks like a bunch of little shooting stars," Walter commented. "See it? On the sides."

Paige smiled, nodding. "Yep. It's beautiful."

"Hmmm."

She looked at him. He was studying the water and how it interacted with the light, and she wished she could tell exactly what he was thinking. The two of them could look at the same object, or the same event, and see completely different things. He'd come to learn so much about her world, and she hoped that she would, one day, be able to view some things the way that he did, to see the fascination that he took in little things.

He shifted his gaze from the fountain to her, the affection evident in his eyes. "Paige, I'm uh…" he took both her hands. "I'm greatly enjoying our evening."

"Me too," she said softly. She squeezed his hands, stepping closer, her eyes locking on his. "I know it's early in this part of our relationship to say this, but…" she gave a little nod, wetting her lips. "You make me really, really happy, Walter."

He smiled, not breaking their gaze. "Mutual."

She gave a little giggle. "Good."

He wanted to kiss her. She could tell by the way his eyes were shifting between her eyes and her lips, how his nostrils flared ever so slightly, and how he was flexing his fingers around hers as if he wanted to move his hands else ware. She knew he was always a little hesitant, worried that he would do something she didn't want or wasn't ready for. She appreciated that – especially given the fact that of the two of them, he was the one who probably needed more of that type of care. She supposed maybe this hesitance was a sign of that in itself.

Paige closed her eyes and put her lips on his, letting go of his hands to place hers on either side of his neck. She felt Walter's hands rest on her hips, and then he stepped closer, against her, and he slid his arms fully around her, one hand between her shoulder blades and the other in the small of her back. Walter was a good kisser, despite his limited practice. Paige wondered if it was their chemistry, or a natural talent, or both. She slid her arms all the way around his shoulders, leaning back slightly, knowing he would follow her.

Walter's hand slid up to her hair, holding her in place as his tongue stroked her lower lip. She gave a small sigh, parting her lips to let him in. She felt like a teenager, making out with a guy on the first date in a city park. She wondered if Walter was thinking the same thing – or if he'd even dated anyone when he was in his teens.

But beyond the basic circumstances, this wasn't like anything she did as a teen. This wasn't like anything she had ever done. She'd never been this far gone so soon. The fact that they'd known each other for years – they'd had feelings like this for years – didn't make it any less incredible to her that it was their first date and she was already feeling so, so much.

Their lips separated, and she rested her chin on his shoulder. They stood there, embracing, in silence for a minute or two, swaying ever so slightly back and forth.

* * *

"Well, this one is mine," Paige said jokingly as they approached her condo.

"It's nice," Walter commented. "You must have a pretty interesting job."

Paige was pleased that he was playing along. "I do alright," she said.

They were at her door. "Walter," she said, before he could say anything. She liked when the person she was with told her they enjoyed spending time with her first. For all her E.Q., she had always been more of a _you too_ or a _me too_ person. But as much as she liked that dynamic, she liked Walter a lot more. "Walter, tonight was incredible." She smiled at him. "I had so much fun."

"So did I." He smiled back. "I'm glad we finally did this. This feels…" he shrugged. "Good."

"Yeah," she said softly, stepping closer and embracing him again. He held her close, his nose in her hair, and she almost laughed or cried or both as it hit her, yet again, that they were actually doing this. She leaned back just enough to look up at him. "Walter, I love you."

He lifted a hand, placing it on her cheek. "I love you, too." He held her gaze a moment, then gave an embarrassed smile and looked away.

"Hey, what, what?" Paige asked, concerned.

"I just, uh…" he let out a breath and grinned. "I just can't believe I get to say that."

Paige tossed her hair flirtatiously, still smiling. "Well, you do."

He leaned in slightly, then took a pause, giving her the option to pull away. Paige closed her eyes. After a moment, his lips were on hers, kissing her tenderly, his hand still on the side of her face. Paige put a hand on his chest, her fingers curling around his shirt as his kiss sent a pleasant feeling throughout her body. She thought she could spend the rest of the night just kissing him like this.

But her son was inside, and they had to work in the morning, and it wasn't realistic to remain standing out here much longer without drawing attention from the elderly neighbors that walked around when they couldn't sleep. Eventually – and much sooner than she wanted to – Paige pulled back. "I really should…"

"Yeah. I know."

"Okay." She wanted to invite him in. But they'd purposefully structured this date so there wouldn't be any pressure. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah." Walter nodded. "Okay."

"Okay." She stepped toward him, giving him another, brief kiss, then reached behind her to find the door knob. "Good night, Walter."

"Night."

Paige entered the condo, turning and closing the door. She watched through the peep hole as Walter lingered a brief moment, smiling almost as if he knew she was looking at him, then turned to head back to his car.

Paige locked the door, then turned around and leaned against it. She smiled.

* * *

 **The end.**


End file.
